Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62M—RIDER PROPULSION OF WHEELED VEHICLES OR SLEDGES; POWERED PROPULSION OF SLEDGES OR SINGLE-TRACK CYCLES; TRANSMISSIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SUCH VEHICLES
  • B62M1/00—Rider propulsion of wheeled vehicles
  • B62M1/24—Rider propulsion of wheeled vehicles with reciprocating levers, e.g. foot levers
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62K—CYCLES; CYCLE FRAMES; CYCLE STEERING DEVICES; RIDER-OPERATED TERMINAL CONTROLS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR CYCLES; CYCLE AXLE SUSPENSIONS; CYCLE SIDE-CARS, FORECARS, OR THE LIKE
  • B62K3/00—Bicycles
  • B62K3/005—Recumbent-type bicycles
• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B62—LAND VEHICLES FOR TRAVELLING OTHERWISE THAN ON RAILS
  • B62M—RIDER PROPULSION OF WHEELED VEHICLES OR SLEDGES; POWERED PROPULSION OF SLEDGES OR SINGLE-TRACK CYCLES; TRANSMISSIONS SPECIALLY ADAPTED FOR SUCH VEHICLES
  • B62M1/00—Rider propulsion of wheeled vehicles
  • B62M1/12—Rider propulsion of wheeled vehicles operated by both hand and foot power

Definitions

• MACHINE SUCH AS IN PARTICULAR A CYCLE, HUMAN-POWERED
• the invention relates to a machine, such as in particular a cycle, with human propulsion, comprising a longitudinal chassis provided, towards one of its ends, with a seat provided with a backrest and, towards its opposite end, with a system of pedals able to be activated with the feet by a user in a seated position with the back held by the backrest, said pedal system being associated with transmission means connecting it to a motor shaft, capable of transforming the movement of this pedal system into a rotational movement of said motor shaft.
• Such machines described in particular in patents FR 811 916 and BE 432 336, with regard to cycles, have the advantage of offering the user a comfortable "semi-lying" position, while requiring a similar effort. or even less compared to conventional cycles.
• Such cycles do not make it possible to optimize the efficiency of the forces supplied by the user due to the "dead points" inherent in their design, which correspond to positions of the pedals where the transmitted force is reduced or even zero.
• all of the cycles sold designed to be used in the seated position are provided with a conventional crankset generally disposed at the front of the machine. Like those mentioned above, and due to the design of the pedals, these cycles have "dead spots" which do not make it possible to optimize the efficiency of the forces.
• the present invention aims to overcome all the drawbacks described above, and has the main objective of providing a machine optimizing the efficiency of the efforts provided.
• the invention relates to a machine, such as in particular a cycle, comprising a longitudinal chassis provided, towards one of its ends, with a seat provided with a backrest and, towards its opposite end, with a system of pedals able to be activated with the feet by a user in a seated position with the back held by the backrest, said pedal system being associated with transmission means connecting it to a motor shaft, capable of transforming the movement of this pedal system into a rotational movement of said motor shaft, the pedal system comprising two pedals connected to the chassis by actuation means capable of enabling them to confer an alternative translational movement,
• the transmission means comprising, for each pedal, a rotary unidirectional transmission member associated with elastic return means, carried by the motor shaft and connected to the actuation means by a connecting element adapted to drive said member in rotation rotary and the motor shaft, during movement of said pedal in a direction of distance from the latter relative to the seat.
• this machine is characterized in that it comprises two levers capable of being actuated manually, connected to the chassis by actuation means capable of enabling them to be given an alternative translational movement, the actuation means of each lever being connected to a rotary unidirectional transmission member associated with elastic means and carried by the drive shaft, by a connecting element adapted to rotate said rotary member and the drive shaft, during movements of said lever according to a direction of distance from the seat.
• actuation means of each lever being connected to a rotary unidirectional transmission member associated with elastic means and carried by the drive shaft, by a connecting element adapted to rotate said rotary member and the drive shaft, during movements of said lever according to a direction of distance from the seat.
• this device makes it possible to obtain a developed force much greater than that obtained with current devices. Furthermore, it should be noted the simplicity of the design of this machine comprising a chassis, movable actuation means relative to said chassis, and a unidirectional transmission member connected to each pedal and to each lever. Finally, it should be noted the total independence between the action of the different members which authorizes all freedoms of use.
• the actuation means comprise, for each pedal and each lever, a carriage mounted to slide along the chassis.
• each pair of carriages are preferably connected to each other by a flexible connecting element associated with a deflection member secured to the chassis, arranged so as to keep said connecting element taut in positions of the carriages where the latter are located symmetrically on either side of the midpoint of their path.
• the machine comprises elastic end-of-travel elements arranged so as to act as a stop for the carriages in the position of the latter furthest from the seat.
• These elastic stops have the function of accumulating the muscular power supplied at the end of limb extension, power which turns out to be maximum, and of restoring the energy accumulated at the start of the return phase of the carriages which corresponds to a muscular power supplied. lower.
• the machine preferably comprises elastic end-of-travel elements arranged so as to act as a stop for the carriages in the position of the latter closest to the seat.
• Such elastic elements make it possible to accumulate the tensile forces and to restore them to obtain a greater thrust. They can also be used in combination with the above-mentioned elastic elements and flexible connection elements.
• each rotary unidirectional transmission member advantageously has a substantially ovoid shape, and is mounted eccentrically on the motor shaft so that the length of the lever between the axis of rotation of said drive shaft and the longitudinal axis of the force exerted on the carriage is inversely proportional to the distance separating said carriage from the seat.
• the effort to provide to cause the rotation of the rotary members is less than that to provide at the end of extension where the developed force is maximum.
• this machine preferably comprises two handles articulated respectively each towards the upper end of one of the levers, so as to be able to pivot around a axis longitudinal, said handles being connected to an operating bar secured to the steering tube by means of connecting elements adapted to cause the rotation of said operating bar and steering tube about a vertical axis.
• the plate is preferably mounted on the drive shaft by means of a free wheel adapted to allow the said drive shaft to be driven in rotation only when the machine is moved towards the 'before.
• FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a cycle according to the invention
• FIG. 2a is a side view
• FIG. 2b is a detail on an enlarged scale of Figure 2a
• FIG. 3 is a cross section through a vertical plane A, on an enlarged scale, representing the pedal-carrying carriages
• FIG. 4 is a partial bottom view of the chassis to the right of the steering tube
• - Figure 5 is a diagram of the operating means of the steering tube
• - Figure 6 is a longitudinal section through a horizontal plane B of the rear end of the chassis of this cycle.
• FIG. 7 is a schematic top view of an alternative embodiment of a cycle according to the invention, shown without seat and without front wheel,
• FIG. 8 is a cross section through a vertical plane C, on an enlarged scale, of the chassis this cycle variant.
• the cycles according to the invention shown by way of example in the figures are two-wheeled cycles.
• the cycle shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 comprises, first of all, a frame 1 composing a longitudinal guide rail, consisting of a tubular profile 2 of rectangular section, on each of the lateral faces of which two profiles, such as 3, are welded, T-shaped arranged so that the branch of said T extends orthogonal to the corresponding lateral face of the tubular profile 2.
• This chassis 1 carries, towards its front end, a conventional steering tube 4 in the extension of which extends a fork 5 supporting the axis of the front wheel 6.
• the chassis 1 Towards its rear end, the chassis 1 is extended by two tubular frames such as 7 parallel, each having a generally triangular shape.
• One of the sides of these frames defines a support 8 for the backrest 9a of a seat 9 integral with its seat 9b of the chassis 1, while the other two sides form two forks extending between said support 8 and the axis of the rear wheel 10, of which they support the shaft carrying the free wheel 11.
• chassis 1 Along the chassis 1 are mounted sliding four identical carriages such as 15, 16 associated two by two: two carriages 15 with pedestrian actuation each carrying a pedal such as 17 and two carriages 16 with manual actuation each carrying a joystick such as 18.
• Each of these carriages 15, 16 consists of a U-shaped profile capable of covering one of the T-shaped profiles 3 of the chassis 1.
• each carriage 15, 16 carries three pairs of rollers such as 19 arranged for come into contact on both sides respectively of the branch and of the two wings of the section 3 of the chassis, towards the end of said branch and wings.
• each pair are connected by a cable 20 (or 21) associated with a return pulley 22 (or 23) with vertical axis secured under the chassis 1, arranged so that any movement of a carriage in one direction causes the associated carriage to move in the other direction.
• each of the carriages 15, 16 is connected by a cable such as 24, 25 of length adjustable by any means known per se, to an ovoid-shaped pulley such as 26, 27 mounted around the motor shaft 12, each said pulleys constituting a rotary unidirectional transmission member of the freewheel system type, and being associated with an integrated return spring (not shown).
• each of these ovoid pulleys 26, 27 The function of each of these ovoid pulleys 26, 27 is to cause a rotation of the motor shaft 12, during movements in the direction of the front wheel 6 of the associated carriage 15, 16.
• these ovoid pulleys 26, 27 are inoperative relative to the motor shaft 12 and undergo a simple rotation under the action of the associated return spring.
• these ovoid pulleys 26, 27 are mounted offset from the motor shaft 12 so that the lever between the axis of this shaft and the axis of the force tending to cause the rotation of said pulleys is of variable length, advantageously decreasing as the carriages 15, 16 advance.
• the ovoid pulleys 26 associated with the carriages 15 to pedestrian actuation are smaller than those 27 associated with carriages 16 with manual actuation.
• the chassis 1 carries elastic stop members such as 28, 29 arranged so as to limit the forward stroke of said carriages and to exert on them an effort tending to repel them. rearward.
• the chassis 1 carries elastic stop members such as 60, 61, arranged so as to limit the rearward travel of the carriages 15, 16 and to exert on the latter a force tending to push them forward .
• the levers 18 have a telescopic structure and comprise a fixed section 18a consisting of a bent tube, and a movable section 18b capable of making it possible to adjust the height of said levers relative to the chassis 1.
• the movable section 18b of each of these levers 18 is further extended by a handle 30, 31 articulated around a longitudinal axis.
• Each of these handles 30, 31 is integral with the end of two cables respectively 32, 33 and 34, 35 fixed symmetrically on either side of the articulation axis.
• the opposite end of these cables 32-35 is in turn secured to a horizontal V-shaped operating bar 36 secured to the steering tube 4.
• the cables 32-35 are arranged so that, during the pivoting of a handle 30, 31, said cables cause the rotation of the operating bar 36 in one or the other direction.
• the handles 30, 31 are equipped with brake handles such that 37 and bodies (not shown) for controlling the derailleur (s).
• FIG. 7 represents a variant according to which the chassis consists of a hollow cylindrical tube 38 bent so as to have the shape of a fork whose end bent at 180 degrees constitutes the front end of the cycle.
• the two branches 39, 40 of this fork 38 are further shaped so that said fork has, longitudinally three sections of different widths: a front section 38a of minimum width along which the two branches 39, 40 extend parallel and substantially horizontally, an intermediate section 38b of width greater than that of the front section 38a, along which the branches 39, 40 also extend parallel and substantially horizontally, and a rear section 38c of maximum width along which the branches 39, 40 have a first portion of length where they extend in parallel and where the motor shaft 41 is disposed, and a second portion of length where they converge one towards the other so as to carry, towards their end, the shaft carrying the free wheel of the rear wheel 42.
• this rear section 38c which constitutes the rear portion of the cycle carrying in particular the seat, is inclined downward relative to the front sections 38a and intermediate 38b.
• each carriage 43 consists of a cylindrical carriage housed in the tube 38 of the chassis, provided with a lug for holding the pedal 44 or the lever 45, extending through a longitudinal slot formed in said tube.
• carriages 43 and the tube 38 are provided, facing, with longitudinal grooves housing the sliding balls 46.
• the pedal-carrying carriages 44 are arranged so as to slide along the front section 38a of the chassis and are connected by a cable 47 associated with a return pulley 48 with vertical axis mounted towards the front end of said chassis.
• the lever-carrying carriages 45 are in turn arranged so as to slide along the intermediate section 38b of the chassis and are connected by a cable 49 associated with two return pulleys such as 50 mounted towards the front end of said intermediate section.
• these carriages 43 are connected by cables such as 51, 52 to ovoid pulleys such as 53, 54 carried by the motor shaft 41.
• the tube 38 can have a rounded shape other than circular, and that the carriages 43 can be slidably mounted around this tube and not inside the latter. In addition, sliding can be ensured, in place of the balls 46, by a Teflon / Teflon contact (registered trademark), or an iron / bronze contact with lubrication ...

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• Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
• Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
• Chemical & Material Sciences (AREA)
• Combustion & Propulsion (AREA)
• Transportation (AREA)
• Motorcycle And Bicycle Frame (AREA)
• Mechanical Control Devices (AREA)
• Automatic Cycles, And Cycles In General (AREA)

Priority Applications (6)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Publications (1)

Family

ID=9488567

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (6)

Cited By (1)

Families Citing this family (22)

Citations (5)

Family Cites Families (10)

• 1996
  • 1996-06-28 JP JP10503866A patent/JP2000514013A/ja active Pending
  • 1996-06-28 WO PCT/FR1996/001005 patent/WO1998000332A1/fr active IP Right Grant
  • 1996-06-28 US US09/214,117 patent/US6155584A/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 1996-06-28 AU AU64622/96A patent/AU6462296A/en not_active Abandoned
  • 1996-06-28 DE DE69614888T patent/DE69614888D1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime
  • 1996-06-28 EP EP96924032A patent/EP0907549B1/de not_active Expired - Lifetime

Patent Citations (5)

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